SGP embodies the very essence of sustainable development. SGP channels financial and technical support directly to NGOs and CBOs for activities that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people's well-being and livelihoods.

SGP supports activities in support of the GEF priorities - biodiversity conservation, abatement of climate change , protection of international waters , prevention of land degradation and elimination of persistent organic pollutants .

Since its inception, SGP has confronted very real challenges in working with communities to reconcile global environmental priorities with local community needs - challenges that have been met in different ways across the globe depending on particular economic, cultural, political and environmental conditions. In the process, SGP became "the people's GEF".